Same size box, but this is not a bike...

[yoothgeye]

So I bought a water skipper, also known as a Water Bird, or maybe an Aqua Skipper. Anyway, it's a human powered hydrofoil. I'd seen videos of them online for years and always wanted one but it wasn't will recently that I realized the price was less than half what they use to be.

It comes in a box the same size as a bicycle comes in, but then it assembles to this:

Here is a video of one in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Rd_FjgyfE

Looks easy right? Yeah... I can see how it can get easy, but it wasn't any of those people's first try, I think most people who get one look more like this guy: (2 minutes of mostly failed attempts) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_5eMMkIOeo

I put it together at church with my youth group then took them to the boat landing to try it out, the power company has a lot of water out today and the water is about 5 foot below the pier, so pier launching (preferred method) was out. I made about 30 beach launch attempts, the majority failures, but 2 times I was actually going pretty good. Can't wait to try again off a pier.

I'm very tired, had to wash the sand out of my crack. Maybe I should paint it flat black with red accents... :mrgreen:

Anyone ever try one or see one in action?

 

[aka_locojoe]

Man that looks like a lot of work. Good luck to you.

 

[yoothgeye]

Man that looks like a lot of work. Good luck to you.

One of my students compiled some of my fails on a video on facebook tonight. It was fun though. None of them were prepared with their bathing suits tonight to try it too, so once we have lots of people trying it, it should get a lot more fun.

 

[user 135]

That is cool. The only experience I had with a hydrofoil was an AirChair. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWShCpqU ... re=related
But I looked more like the fail video.

 

[bicycleguy]

That is way cool!!!

 

[That0neGuy]

=O Awe man I've never seen one of thos before I want to try it !! That's awesome !

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Looks cool but my fat butt would probably sink like a stone. :lol:

 

[big kountry]

Looks cool but my fat butt would probably sink like a stone. :lol:

+1 :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[yoothgeye]

BAck from our mission trip, hope to get this in the water again soon. So far all my fat butt has been doing is sinking it, but I've gone about 30 feet on it with a beach start.

 

[Floyd]

That looks like fun!

 

[Jpromo]

Hm.. now if only one could stand-fish off of it.. or, better yet, troll.

 

[yoothgeye]

Hm.. now if only one could stand-fish off of it.. or, better yet, troll.

I can see trolling, but that's about it, of course, I wouldn't wanna fall off the back into the hooks.

 

[Uncle Stretch]

The guy in the first video made it look so easy. Whoever sold it to you is probably still laughing. :wink:

 

[yoothgeye]

The guy in the first video made it look so easy. Whoever sold it to you is probably still laughing. :wink:

Maybe so, but there are plenty of videos of everyday people riding this thing, I just need to get it in the water off of a pier of bulk head.

 

[Uncle Stretch]

You need one of these. :wink:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... JJa6s&NR=1

 

[yoothgeye]

I've been watching the Jet Lev videos for quite a while, but at $130,000 I like my toy better.

 

[dragnusa]

does it come with floaties?

 

[yoothgeye]

does it come with floaties?

Actually it did come with one, haha. It's an adult sized floatie that you put on it to be more boyent when you inevitably sink.